Washing machine

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a washing machine, including a lifter for protecting weight imbalance of a drum. The washing machine includes a housing, a tub provided in the housing for preliminarily storing wash water, a drum rotatably provided in the tub for washing laundry, at least one lifter provided on an inner circumferential surface of the drum for lifting the laundry to drop the laundry from a predetermined height during rotation of the drum so as to prevent the laundry from gathering to an inlet of the drum.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. P2003-46022, filed on Jul. 8, 2003, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a washing machine, and more particularly, to a lifter provided in a drum of the washing machine.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

A washing machine, in general, includes a drum rotatably provided therein, and washes laundry by using the tub and drum. The tub stores washing water in reserve, and the drum is supplied with washing water and detergent from the tub, and rotated with the laundry therein. Therefore, the laundry is washed by machinery impact generated from rotation of the drum, as well as by a chemical action of the wash water and the detergent.

In the conventional washing machine, however, during an operation, particularly during a dehydration accompanied by high-speed rotation of the drum, the laundry is centered to a front portion of the drum by many reasons, resulting in a serious load imbalance to the drum. Therefore, the driving and supporting mechanism of the drum has a large weight unnecessarily, and consumption of electric power, noise, and vibration are increased. Since washing is not regularly performed, a long time is required for washing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a washing machine that substantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a washing machine for preventing weight imbalance generated from a drum thereof.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the present invention includes a housing; a tub provided in the housing for storing preliminary wash water; a drum rotatably provided in the tub for washing laundry; and at least one lifter projected from an inner circumferential surface of the drum to a predetermined height for lifting the laundry to drop at a predetermined height during rotation of the drum so as to prevent the laundry from gathering at an inlet of the drum.

The lifter makes the laundry stop at a predetermined location, desirably at a bottom portion of the drum.

The lifter includes a first end having a higher height than other parts practically, and the first end is adjacent to the bottom portion of the drum. Desirably, the height of the lifter is gradually increased from an opposite end to the first end. Practically, the height of the drum is linearly or nonlinearly increased.

The lifter prevents the laundry from being moved, and the laundry is restrained from being moved to the inlet of the drum by the lifter.

Actually, the lifter includes first and second end having higher heights than other parts thereof, and the heights of the first and second ends are the same. The height of the lifter is gradually increased from a central portion thereof toward the first and second ends, and the height of the lifter is linearly or nonlinearly increased to the first end and the second end.

In the end, the drum further includes a cavity at least partially formed on the bottom portion thereof, and the cavity is formed on the whole bottom portion thereof.

The laundry is evenly dispersed in the drum without gathering at a front portion of the drum by the present invention aforementioned.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings;

FIG. 1 illustrates a cutaway view showing a washing machine in accordance with the present invention including a first embodiment of a first preferred embodiment;

FIGS. 2A to 2B illustrate a perspective view and a side view showing a modified example in accordance with the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates a cutaway view showing a washing machine in accordance with the present invention including a second embodiment of the lifter in FIG. 3;

FIGS. 4A to 4B illustrate a perspective view and a side view showing a modified example of the lifter in accordance with the second embodiment; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a cutaway view showing a washing machine in accordance with the present invention including a modified drum.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 1 illustrates a cutaway view showing a washing machine in accordance with the present invention, referring with which the washing machine in accordance with the present invention will be described. Illustrated washing machine is the same as a front loading type washing machine, or a top loading type washing machine except that a tub 20 and a drum 30 are lied. Therefore, although the present invention is described referring to the front loading type washing machine for a simple description, it is also applied to the top loading type washing machine.

As illustrated, the washing machine in accordance with the present invention includes a housing 10, and a tub 20 and a drum 30 provided in the housing 10.

The housing 10 is designed to include and to protect various parts therein. In front of the housing 10, a door 11 is provided for opening and closing an inlet 10 a coupled to the drum 30. In more detail, the inlet 10 a is coupled with an inlet 20 a of the tub and an inlet 30 a of the drum, respectively, and sequentially communicated such that a user can insert a laundry into the drum 30.

Between the inlet 10 a and the inlet 20 a of the tub, a gasket 12 is provided for preventing wash water from being leaked, and a control panel 13 is provided at an upper part of the housing 10. The user directs an operation of the washing machine by using the control panel 13, and puts in or takes out the laundry.

In a center of a bottom surface of the tub 30, a though hole is provided, and a driving axis coupled with the drum 30 is provided through the through hole. The tub 20 includes a balance weight 21, and is elastically provided in the housing 10 by means of a damper 22 and a suspension spring 23. The drum 30 receives the laundry, and is rotatably provided in the tub 20. The drum 30 includes a plurality of though holes (not shown) for receiving wash water from the tub 20, and a lifter for supporting washing. Meanwhile, a driving member 40 is provided at the tub 20 so as to supply power for rotation of the drum 30. The driving member 40 includes a motor 41, and the operating axis 42 for coupling the drum 30 with the motor 41. In more detail, the motor 41 includes a stator 41 a fixed on the bottom surface of the tub 20, and a rotor 41 b rotatably provided surrounding the stator 41 a. As illustrated, the rotor 41 b is directly coupled with the operating axis 42, thus the power of the motor 41 is directly transformed to the drum 30 through the operating axis 42 without any loss. Therefore, The driving member 40 has an advantage in an efficiency, noise and vibration aspects. In the mean time, the driving member 40, although not illustrated, includes a conventional operating mechanism including pulleys provided at the drum 30 and the motor, and a belt coupling the pulleys together.

In the washing machine, the lifter 100 or a baffle is projected to a predetermined height on an inner circumferential surface of the drum 30. The drum 30 includes at least one, desirably a plurality of lifters 100. The lifter 100 is provided at the drum 30 as a separate member, or the lifter 100 and the drum 300 are formed as a single body by projecting a part of the drum 30 via press fabricating.

The laundry is caught on the lifter 100 during the rotation of the drum 30 because the lifter 100 is projected. The lifter 100 rotates together with the drum 30 and lifts the laundry to a predetermined height, and then the laundry falls down from the lifter 100 because of its weight, and impacts against another laundry, wash water, the drum 30, or another lifter 100. Accordingly, the laundry is more effectively washed by machinery impact of the lifter 100. In addition, the lifter 100 impacts against the laundry and performs a role of mixing the laundry so as to well wash the laundry.

As aforementioned, the laundry is centered to a front portion of the drum 30, i.e., near the inlet 30 a for many reasons during washing. As illustrated, since the drum 30 is supported only by a rear portion thereof, i.e., the operating axis 42 coupled with the bottom portion 30 b, weight imbalance of the gathered laundry largely burdens the operating axis 42 and a bearing supporting the operating axis 42. The weight imbalance brings power consumption, and noise, vibration, wash time increase. For solving such problems, the structure of the drum 30 needs to be changed, and the structural change is suitable for, particularly, the lifter 100 because the lifter 100 is in contact with the laundry, directly. Therefore, the lifter 100 is configured for preventing the laundry from being gathered to the inlet 30 a of the drum 30.

First of all, the lifter 100 is configured to make the laundry stop at a predetermined location of the drum 30 except the inlet 30 a so as to prevent the laundry from being gathered. Particularly, when the laundry is positioned adjacent to the operating axis 42 and the bearing, the supporting and operating mechanisms are less burdened. Accordingly, it is desirable that the laundry stops at the rear portion of the drum 30, i.e., adjacent to the bottom portion 30 b by the lifter 100. In more detail, the lifter 100 includes a first end 110 projected to a predetermined height therefrom. In other words, the first end 110 is higher than other parts of the lifter 100. The first end 110 drops the laundry at a higher place than other parts of the lifter 100 because the first end 110 is projected. In other words, the laundry caught by the first end 100 is held at the lifter 100 for a longer time. Consequently, the laundries near the first end 110 are kept to stop at a predetermined location of the drum 30, particularly near the first end 110. As aforementioned, it is desirable that the fist end 110 is positioned adjacent to the bottom portion (the rear portion) 30 b of the drum 30 such that the laundry stops at the bottom portion 30 b for less burdening the driving and supporting mechanism.

If there is a large difference of height at an upper end portion of the lift 100 by the first end 110, for example if a kind of staff portion is provided, the laundry can be damaged from the lifter 100 during washing. Accordingly, it is desirable that the height of the lifter 100 is gradually increased from an opposite end to the first end 110, and the lifter 100 has a smooth upper end for undamaging the laundry. In more detail, on the one hand, the height of the lifter 100 may be increased linearly as illustrated in FIG. 1, and on the other hand, as illustrated in FIG. 2A and 2B. It is advantageous for washing that the lifter 100 of FIGS. 2A and 2B has a larger friction area owing to the height, which is nonlinearly increased.

In this case, it is advantageous that the upper part of the lifter 100 is curved as illustrated in the drawing. (In other words, as illustrated in FIG. 2B, an outline of the upper end portion of the lifter 100 is formed in an arc form.) It is because the lifters 100 having a bulky upper end can unnecessarily reduce capacity (laundry amount) of the drum 30.

Even if the first end 110 makes the laundry stop at a predetermined location of the drum 30, a large amount of the laundry can keep moving toward the inlet 30 a of the drum 30. Accordingly, the lifter 100 is provided fro preventing the laundry from being moved in the drum 30. Particularly, it is desirable that the laundry is restrained from being moved to a front of the drum, i.e., toward the inlet 30 a by the lifter 100. In more detail, the lifer 100 further includes a second end 120 projected to a predetermined height therefrom. In other words, the second end 120 is higher than other parts of the lifter 100 as same as the first end 110. The second end 120 forms a barrier or an obstacle against the laundry, and it is uneasy for the laundry to move over the second end 120. The second end 120 is provided adjacent to the inlet 30 a opposite side of the first end 110 such that the laundry is not accessed to the inlet 30 a.

If there is a height difference between the second end 120 and the first end 110, weights become different from each other, and thus the weight imbalance can be generated only with the ends 110 and 120. Therefore, it is desirable that the first end 110 and the second end 120 are the same. It is also desirable that the height of the lifter 100 is gradually increased from the central portion to the first end 110 and the second end 120. In more detail, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the height of the lifter 100 may be linearly increased. On the other hand, as illustrated in FIG. 4A and 4B, the height of the lifter 100 may be nonlinearly increased such that a larger friction surface is formed at the upper end thereof. As aforementioned, it is advantageous that the upper end portion of the lifter 100 includes a concave surface such that the capacity of the drum is unreduced.

Meanwhile, the drum 30 further includes a cavity 31 partially formed on the bottom portion 30 b as illustrated in FIG. 5. The cavity 31 induces the laundry to the bottom portion (rear portion) 30 b of the drum 30 by forming a predetermined space. Accordingly, instead of gathering the laundry to the inlet 30 a, the cavity 31 stably receives the laundry into an inside thereof near the bottom portion 30 b by supplementing the first and second ends 110 and 120. It is desirable that the cavity 31 is formed on the whole bottom portion 30 b of the drum 30 as illustrated so as to form enough space. Therefore, the cavity 31, specifically the bottom surface of the drum 30 includes a spherical surface, practically. The cavity 31 is solely applied to the drum 30 of the washing machine without the first and second ends 110 and 120, in this case, it is sufficiently effective for stopping the laundry at the rear portion (bottom portion) 30 b of the drum 30.

The lifter includes a first and second ends in the washing machine of the present invention as aforementioned. In other words, the lifter has an inconsistent height on the whole, and more precisely, at least a part of the lifter is taller than other parts.

Accordingly, owing to the height difference, the laundry stops at the bottom portion of the drum but not moving toward the inlet of the drum. Furthermore, the laundry is evenly dispersed between the first and second ends. Therefore, the weight imbalance is largely reduced and thus the weight weighed on the driving and supporting mechanism of the drum is reduced. Time for washing, power consumption, noise and vibration are also reduced. Reduction of many factors results in increasing washing efficiency, stability and reliability of the washing machine.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. 

1. A washing machine, comprising: a housing; a tub provided in the housing for storing preliminary wash water; a drum rotatably provided in the tub for washing laundry; and at least one lifter projected from an inner circumferential surface of the drum to a predetermined height for lifting the laundry to drop at a predetermined height during rotation of the drum so as to prevent the laundry from gathering at an inlet of the drum.
 2. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lifter has an uneven height.
 3. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least a part of the lifter is higher than other parts thereof.
 4. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lifter makes the laundry stop at a predetermined location.
 5. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the laundry is stopped at a bottom portion of the drum by the lifter.
 6. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least a part of the lifter holds the laundry for a longer time compared to other parts.
 7. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lifter comprises a first end having a higher height than other parts.
 8. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first end is adjacent to the bottom portion of the drum.
 9. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the height of the lifter is gradually increased from an opposite end to the first end.
 10. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lifter in linearly increased to the first end.
 11. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the height of the lifter is nonlinearly increased to the first end.
 12. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper end comprises a concave surface.
 13. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lifter prevents the laundry from being moved.
 14. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the laundry is restrained from being moved to the inlet of the drum by the lifter.
 15. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lifter comprises a first end and a second end having higher height than other part thereof.
 16. The washing machine as claimed in claim 15, wherein the heights of the first and second ends are the same.
 17. The washing machine as claimed in claim 15, wherein the height of the lifter is gradually increased from a central portion thereof toward the first end and second end, respectively.
 18. The washing machine as claimed in claim 15, wherein the height of the lifter is linearly increased to the first and second ends.
 19. The washing machine as claimed in claim 15, wherein the height of the lifter is nonlinearly increased to the first and second ends.
 20. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the drum further comprises a cavity partially formed on the bottom portion thereof.
 21. The washing machine as claimed in claim 20, wherein the cavity is formed on the whole bottom portion of the drum.
 22. The washing machine as claimed in claim 21, wherein the cavity comprises a spherical surface. 